Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb;45(2):525-538.
doi: 10.1007/s10072-023-06958-8. Epub 2023 Aug 18.

A new national survey of centers for cognitive disorders and dementias in Italy

Ilaria Bacigalupo  1 , Francesco Giaquinto  2 , Emanuela Salvi  3 , Giulia Carnevale  4 , Roberta Vaccaro  4   5 , Fabio Matascioli  4   6 , Giulia Remoli  7 , Nicola Vanacore  8 , Patrizia Lorenzini  8 ; Permanent Table of the National Dementia Plan Study Group and the CCDDs Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

A new national survey of centers for cognitive disorders and dementias in Italy

Ilaria Bacigalupo et al. Neurol Sci. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Introduction: A new national survey has been carried out by the Italian Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementias (CCDDs). The aim of this new national survey is to provide a comprehensive description of the characteristics, organizational aspects of the CCDDs, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A list of all national CCDDs was requested from the delegates of each Italian region. The online questionnaire is divided in two main sections: a profile section, containing information on location and accessibility, and a data collection form covering organization, services, treatments, activities, and any service interruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Results: In total, 511 out of 534 (96%) facilities completed the profile section, while 450 out of 534 (84%) CCDDs also completed the data collection form. Almost half of the CCDDs (55.1%) operated for 3 or fewer days a week. About one-third of the facilities had at least two professional figures among neurologists, geriatricians and psychiatrists. In 2020, only a third of facilities were open all the time, but in 2021, two-thirds of the facilities were open.

Conclusion: This paper provides an update on the current status of CCDDs in Italy, which still shows considerable heterogeneity. The survey revealed a modest improvement in the functioning of CCDDs, although substantial efforts are still required to ensure the diagnosis and care of patients with dementia.

Keywords: COVID-19; Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementias; Dementia; Memory clinic; National dementia plan; Public health; Survey.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A Distribution of Italian CCDDs by Italian region and geographic macro-areas defined according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) categorization; B Estimated mean number of dementia cases per CCDD at the regional level
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017–2025. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO 1. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-action-plan-on-the-public.... Accessed 26 April 2023
    1. Bacigalupo I, Mayer F, Lacorte E, Di Pucchio A, Marzolini F, Canevelli M, Di Fiandra T, Vanacore N. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of dementia inEurope: estimates from the highest-quality studies adopting the DSM IV diagnostic criteria. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;66(4):1471–1481. doi: 10.3233/JAD-180416. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sachdev PS, Lipnicki DM, Kochan NA, Crawford JD, Thalamuthu A, Andrews G, Brayne C, Matthews FE, et al. Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC) (2015) The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in diverse geographical and ethnocultural regions: the COSMIC Collaboration. PloS One 10(11):e0142388. 10.1371/journal.pone.0142388 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mayer F, Remoli G, Bacigalupo I, Palazzesi I, Piscopo P, Bellomo G, Canevelli M, Corbo M, Vanacore N, Lacorte E. Decreasing trend in the incidence and prevalence of dementia: a systematic review. Minerva Med. 2021;112(4):430–440. doi: 10.23736/S0026-4806.21.07454-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dementia in Europe yearbook 2019: estimating the prevalence of dementia in Europe. https://www.alzheimer-europe.org/resources/publications/dementia-europe-.... Accessed 26 April 2023